Apple to Offer $29 iPhone Battery Replacements, More Battery Health Info in iOS

[MacRumors]

Apple this afternoon addressed customer concerns about an ongoing controversy over power management features in older iPhones, pledging to introduce more detailed information about battery health and reducing the price of battery replacements for all of 2018.

In a letter explaining its policies, Apple apologizes for the misinformation that's been spread and says that it would never "intentionally shorten the life of any Apple product, or degrade the user experience to drive customer upgrades."

At issue is a power management feature that was initially introduced in iOS 10.2.1 in the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6s, which was implemented to prevent unexpected shutdowns due to high power draw peaks. Apple's lack of clarity about the feature has led to a number of lawsuits being filed in recent days claiming that Apple is purposefully slowing down older iPhones.

Apple explains the situation and the aging of batteries both in the letter and in a new support document.

A chemically aged battery also becomes less capable of delivering peak energy loads, especially in a low state of charge, which may result in a device unexpectedly shutting itself down in some situations.

To help customers learn more about iPhone's rechargeable battery and the factors affecting its performance, we've posted a new support article, iPhone Battery and Performance.

It should go without saying that we think sudden, unexpected shutdowns are unacceptable. We don't want any of our users to lose a call, miss taking a picture or have any other part of their iPhone experience interrupted if we can avoid it.

These power management features are implemented in the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 7, and iPhone 7 Plus, and will be added to future iPhones as required. They kick in when the battery begins to degrade and can be fixed with a new battery.

Apple says it began to receive feedback this fall from customers who were seeing slower speeds, which it initially thought might be due to software updates and minor bugs in iOS 11, but it now believes the continued chemical aging of the batteries in older devices is at fault.

To allay customer concerns and address recent customer feedback, Apple says it will implement several changes.

- The price for out-of-warranty iPhone battery replacements is being dropped from $79 to $29, starting in late January and lasting through December 2018. Apple plans to provide more information on the price drop in the near future, but it will apply to anyone with an iPhone 6 or later whose battery needs to be replaced.

- In early 2018, an iOS update will introduce new features to give users more visibility into the health of their iPhone's battery, so they can clearly see whether the state of the battery is affecting performance.

Apple says its team is also always working on ways to make the user experience better, including how performance is managed to avoid unexpected shutdowns as batteries age.

Article Link: Apple to Offer $29 iPhone Battery Replacements, More Battery Health Info in iOS

 

[BladeRunner95]

Apple: "we're sorry we got caught"

 

[GizmoDVD]

Amazing news and uncalled for. I imagine all the trolls will have to find something else to whine about. Apple has stepped up and addressed something that was not a big deal.
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Apple: "we're sorry we got caught"

Android "Oh crap. Hope they don't find out how we make incompatible OS, Apps and everything else crappy"

 

[Aussi3]

Should be good to see battery health won’t change my upgrade schedule though

 

[markp-a]

Yes. Thats cheap

 

[AntonisCy]

Respect, Apple!

 

[mtneer]

Good going Apple - doing the right thing! I just hope that I dont have to fight with some moron "Genius" when I go in to replace the battery on my 6S+ next month (currently at 511 cycles, 77% wear according to coconut).

 

[Sirious]

£29 for only 1 year? and then back to £79?

 

[Makayla]

Well that's a step in the right direction.

 

[asdavis10]

This should slash the class action suits into more manageable parts. This is a win for Apple, a win for those wanting battery replacements, and a win for transparency going forward.

 

[sinsin07]

...Smelled like, victory...

 

[ajfahey]

Great, after I had mine changed a month ago.

 

[PastaPrimav]

What annoys me about this and other things like it is that it sets the precedent that an uninformed public can develop an "outcry" over anything get a result out of Apple. Real shame. The public didn't deserve this level of compromise from Apple. Intelligent CPU management of a device powered by lithium-ion battery is expected and appropriate, and really no one's business besides the engineers.

 

[MacDawg]

Sounds like a great response to the situation

 

[Aussi3]

Apple: "we're sorry we got caught"

You can go back to having the software that doesn’t limit performance and crashes cause your battery is old

 

[RickInHouston]

Amazing news and uncalled for. I imagine all the trolls will have to find something else to whine about. Apple has stepped up and addressed something that was not a big deal.
[doublepost=1514498245][/doublepost]

Android "Oh crap. Hope they don't find out how we make incompatible OS, Apps and everything else crappy"

What??? What does android have to do with this?

 

[notspock]

Only solves part of the problem. For years Apple have sold phones to people who thought their old phone was dying and that they needed to get a new one, when really all they needed was a battery. I think they should address that issue.

 

[Jeff750]

Totally unnecessary on Apple's part, but another example of their unique dedication to customer experience and customer satisfaction. Apple is an amazing company.

 

[Caliber26]

Say what you want about them, but good on Apple for stepping up to the plate by addressing the issue and offering a solution. This is what keeps customers coming back.

Even if they were “caught” I respect their ability to acknowledge what’s going on and taking the steps to correct the situation.

 

[JoEw]

Good PR move. I always found it strange IOS didn’t display battery health more in depth, surely it’d clarify confusion.

 

[TokMok3]

Apple customer service is number 1, nobody can beat that!

 

[Sjakelien]

I would say good news! For just 29 euros, you get a new battery.
Question: is there anyone out there with an iPhone 6 who didn't upgrade the iOS, who would be willing to compare the performance of his/her iPhone with mine (+new battery + latest os)?

 

[Andres Cantu]

Battery-gate, it’s coming.

 

[CWallace]

Better if Apple had been forthcoming about the reasons in the first place to save them the negative PR they are now trying to address with these announcements. Still, good news for the consumer in terms of the price reduction on a battery replacement.

Great, after I had mine changed a month ago.

If you had it done at an Apple Store, contact them. They might make an adjustment.

 

[aevan]

This is good news for those of us that didn't doubt Apple's good intentions in the first place.

For others, this is just more "proof" that Apple is corrupt and more ammo for the "everything sucks" rhetoric.